In a tight battle, the Piedmont men’s basketball team could not keep pace with Sewanee down the stretch in an 86-80 loss Tuesday evening. The two were knotted at 36 at the half, but Sewanee used a second-half surge to outlast Piedmont.
The Tigers’ first two shots from the floor were 3-pointers as Sewanee made nine triples to Piedmont’s five. In the first five minutes, Piedmont held a 7-6 lead, and an Israel Hall 3-pointer gave Piedmont a 19-15 advantage inside the 10:00 mark.
The Lions built as much as a seven-point lead in the first half, but the Tigers clawed back to tie it at 36 at the break.
Piedmont again pulled ahead by six in the opening minutes of the second half, but Sewanee kept fighting back as the two were tied at 50 with 10:00 to play.
Sewanee used a 14-1 run from that point on to pull ahead 64-51 as Piedmont was held scoreless from the floor for nearly four minutes until Fisher Darden connected from deep. The Tigers maintained a double-digit lead through much of the final minutes, despite the Lions’ best attempts to stay in it.
In the final 85 seconds of game action, 23 combined points were scored. Piedmont held Sewanee to just eight points off the bench while the Lions added 17.
Up next, the Lions will be in action at Covenant on Friday, taking on Greenville.
TURNING POINT:
–Sewanee used a 14-1 run midway through the second half to claim a 13-point lead and never surrendered it down the stretch.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
–Fisher Darden led all scorers in the game with 22 points, while Piedmont had three starters in double figures.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
–A pair of Lions posted career-bests for Piedmont as Javi Marlowe totaled 17 points while Dylan Patrick added 13.
